License for John
Whitmer, 9 June 1830

A document certifying an individual’s office in the church and authorizing him “to perform the duty of his calling.” The “Articles and Covenants” of the church implied that only elders could issue licenses; individuals ordained by a priest to an office in...

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

A title indicating one sent forth to preach; later designated as a specific ecclesiastical and priesthood office. By 1830, JS and Oliver Cowdery were designated as apostles. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church explained that an “apostle is an elder...

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...

and was endorsed by JS and
Cowdery, the first and second elders of the church. As called for in “Articles and
Covenants,” which was formally accepted by church members at this conference,
the newly founded Church of Christ issued certificates to ordained

The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...

members
as a public proclamation of their affiliation with and ordination in the
church.2

Articles and Covenants,
ca. Apr. 1830 [D&C 20:63–64]. Other religious societies had a similar practice; compare,
for instance, these licenses to those issued by Baptists, as illustrated in “License, A Form of,” in
Baptist Encyclopedia, 701.

The Baptist Encyclopedia. A Dictionary of the
Doctrines, Ordinances, Usages, Confessions of Faith, Sufferings, Labors, and
Successes, and of the General History of the Baptist Denomination in All Lands.
With Numerous Biographical Sketches of Distinguished American and Foreign
Baptists, and a Supplement. Edited by William Cathcart. Vol. 2.
Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts, 1881.

Whitmer received his
license along with four other elders, three priests

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. In the Book of Mormon, priests were described as those who baptized, administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church,” and taught “the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” A June 1829 revelation directed...

Generally, one who instructs, but also an ecclesiastical and priesthood office. The Book of Mormon explained that teachers were to be ordained “to preach repentance and remission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on his name to the end...

A male leader in the church generally; an ecclesiastical and priesthood office or one holding that office; a proselytizing missionary. The Book of Mormon explained that elders ordained priests and teachers and administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto...

Located in northeast region of U.S. Area settled by Dutch traders, 1620s; later governed by Britain, 1664–1776. Admitted to U.S. as state, 1788. Population in 1810 about 1,000,000; in 1820 about 1,400,000; in 1830 about 1,900,000; and in 1840 about 2,400,...

and though no documents of
incorporation for the church survive, the procedure followed at the
organizational meeting and the wording of these certificates seem to reflect
the language and spirit of an 1813 New York law
for the “incorporation of religious societies.”6

Although no extant documents
demonstrate that the
Church of
Christ was legally established on 6 April
1830, religious societies were not required under
New York
law to undergo formal incorporation in order to be officially recognized. (An Act to Provide for the
Incorporation of Religious Societies [5 Apr. 1813], Laws of the State of
New-York [1813], vol. 2, pp. 212–219; see also
Stott, “Legal Insights into
the Organization of the Church in 1830,” 122–132.)

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

An ordinance in which an individual is immersed in water for the remission of sins. The Book of Mormon explained that those with necessary authority were to baptize individuals who had repented of their sins. Baptized individuals also received the gift of...

according to the “Articles &
Covenants,” the church’s founding document, and ordained by JS. The
license also declared that Whitmer was both an apostle and an elder. The title
“apostle,” however, was later crossed out. Though it is unknown when the redaction
was made, it may have been made after twelve apostles

Members of a governing body in the church, with special administrative and proselytizing responsibilities. A June 1829 revelation commanded Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer to call twelve disciples, similar to the twelve apostles in the New Testament and ...

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

as an apostle in the sense of one who was commissioned or sent forth
to preach, not one who was ordained

The conferral of power and authority; to appoint, decree, or set apart. Church members, primarily adults, were ordained to ecclesiastical offices and other responsibilities by the laying on of hands by those with the proper authority. Ordinations to priesthood...

to a specific office with the title “apostle.” No
one was described as an apostle in official records in this period, including the
early minutes of church conferences

A meeting where ecclesiastical officers and other church members could conduct church business. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed the elders to hold conferences to perform “Church business.” The first of these conferences was held on 9 June...

, which typically listed the office of each male
attendee. John Whitmer himself kept many of these records as the first church
historian and also wrote a personal daybook after 1832,
but he gave himself other titles in these writings and never called himself an
apostle.8

French explored area, 1669. British took possession following French and Indian War, 1763. Ceded to U.S., 1783. First permanent white settlement established, 1788. Northeastern portion maintained as part of Connecticut, 1786, and called Connecticut Western...

19 Feb. 1793–14 July 1876. Tanner, farmer, minister. Born at St. Clair, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania. Son of William Rigdon and Nancy Gallaher. Joined United Baptists, ca. 1818. Preached at Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, and vicinity, 1819–1821. Married Phebe...

Howe, Eber D. Mormonism Unvailed: Or, A Faithful Account of That
Singular Imposition and Delusion, from Its Rise to the Present Time. With Sketches
of the Characters of Its Propagators, and a Full Detail of the Manner in Which the
Famous Golden Bible Was Brought before the World. To Which Are Added, Inquiries
into the Probability That the Historical Part of the Said Bible Was Written by One
Solomon Spalding, More Than Twenty Years Ago, and by Him Intended to Have Been
Published as a Romance. Painesville, OH: By the author, 1834.

which again likely referred to Whitmer’s role as a messenger and
preacher rather than to an ecclesiastical office.

The use of the term elder and the office itself were also developing as the Church
of Christ grew. The Book
of Mormon described the offices of teacher, priest, and disciple

Generally, a follower of Jesus Christ, and in certain cases, one selected to lead the ministry. In the New Testament, Christ ordained twelve of his disciples as apostles. The Book of Mormon recounted that during his ministry to the Nephites, Christ similarly...

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

Located in northern part of county between Seneca and Cayuga lakes. Area settled, by 1790. Officially organized as Washington Township, 14 Mar. 1800. Name changed to Fayette, 6 Apr. 1808. Population in 1830 about 3,200. Population in 1840 about 3,700. Significant...

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

; one page; Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and
Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. Transcription from
digital color image obtained from the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
in 2010. Includes redactions.

Single leaf measuring 6⅞–7¼ × 7¾ inches (17–18 × 20 cm) with
irregular tear along the bottom of the document. Docket on verso in handwriting
of John
Whitmer

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

: “John Whitmer | Lisence”. Under this is a mostly illegible
pencil notation: “Sa◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ |
◊◊St◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊”.
Additional notation in pencil: “◊◊◊◊◊◊”. Beneath that is a “YALE” stamp in dark ink.
And along the bottom verso, a docket in handwriting of John Whitmer, “Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

likely obtained the
license circa late 1899 from Whitmer family member George Schweich when
Benjamin obtained the printer’s manuscript of the Book of
Mormon.2

Riley, Founder of Mormonism, 80n5,
100n59. The New York Times indicated the printer’s
manuscript of the Book of Mormon was “kept in a bank vault in this town.” On 17
January 1900, Schweich wrote to O. R. Beardsley telling him that the manuscript
was with Benjamin in New York. (“The Book of Mormon,” New York
Times, 21 Sept. 1899, 9;
George Schweich, Richmond,
MO, to O. R. Beardsley, 17 Jan. 1900, Miscellanea, Marie Eccles-Caine Archives
of Intermountain Americana, Utah State University Special Collections,
Logan.)